Chapter 4
It was way too fucking early to be awake.
Not that Qylar had much choice in the matter given the almost four-year-old lying on top of him.
Before he even opened a single eye, he knew she was on her belly, her elbows resting on his chest, her pretty little face nestled on two chubby fists.
If he didn’t hurry up and open his eyes, she would do it for him to ensure he knew she was there waiting.
She’d stare for a while, as if her gaze upon him was magic and would induce him into consciousness. If that didn’t work, tiny fingers would pry his eyelids up and the sun would burn his retinas.
When he finally lifted one lid, her hand was traveling closer, ready to force him to wake up.
“Morning, Zaadi,” Qylar murmured.
He wanted to be cross with her, but how could he when she was the most adorable child on the planet? Either planet—Earth or Nefyria.
“Mornin’,” Zaadi said. She screwed up her little nose. “Why’s it smell funny in here?”
Qylar’s eyes widened. As his exhausted mind fully awakened in that second, his head whipped to the side in terror that Zaadi would meet his bedmate—but Kenji wasn’t there.
Qylar wasn’t sure if he felt relieved by that or not.
He scanned the bedroom and past the bathroom door sitting ajar. There were no signs of the man.
“I don’t know, honey.” He turned back to Zaadi. “Is there anyone upstairs?”
Zaadi frowned. “No.”
Qylar shrugged. “Who let you in? Papa?”
Zaadi grinned. “I found the key.” She slipped it out of her pocket and showed him.
“Zaadi… does Papa know you took the key and came over?”
Her smile faded. “I missed you, Uncle Q.”
Right in the gut. He sighed, knowing he should be firm with her for leaving without telling anyone, even if it was just next door. It was impossible to be mad with that little pout, though, especially when he’d been avoiding them. “Papa might be worried sick looking for you right now.”
“He was sleeping on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on his forehead. I didn’t want to wake him up.”
“Where’s Ael?”
“Watching Bluey in the playpen. Can we go to the park?”
“Yes, but we have to go ask Papa first.”
Zaadi sat up on his chest. “Papa said you have to take us cuz he doesn’t feel good.”
Qylar doubted Alex would’ve used the words ‘have-to’. “Oh, did he now?”
“Yep,” Zaadi said, giving a confident shake to her head. “You have to.” She slid off his chest, and he helped her stand beside the bed. “I already got Ael’s shoes on and the wagon ready.”
Qylar pointed to the nearby chair. “Can you bring Uncle Q his shorts?”
Zaadi ambled over and returned with them clutched in one hand. He pulled them under the bedding and slipped them on before getting up. After snagging on a t-shirt, he noticed sucker marks running up his arm. Lean, slender marks too delicate to be his own.
Had Zaadi marked him before he woke up? He turned to find her already gone.
“Hurry up, Uncle Q,” she yelled from the hallway.
Qylar quickly washed his hands and face in the empty bathroom and then checked the downstairs rec room before climbing up. He scanned the living room and kitchen—but there was still no sign of Kenji.
“Kenji?” he called up the stairs.
Silence met his ear.
He didn’t sense anyone in the house.
He didn’t even say goodbye?
Qylar entered the townhouse next door—through the secret door they’d built between the two—and found Zaadi wrapped in Alex’s arms, tears streaming down his face.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that,” Alex said, his words choked with emotion.
“Okay, Papa,” Zaadi said, sounding more remorseful than he’d ever heard her. Her papa’s tears had likely done the trick.
Alex looked up from where he squatted on the floor beside Zaadi. “I had no idea she knew where the key was. I’m sorry she came over unannounced.”
“It’s okay. She said you were dozing on the couch because you didn’t feel good?”
Alex hauled himself up, wiping wetness from his cheeks and sniffling. He lifted a hand to his forehead. “My head is pounding. Even more now.”
“It’s probably just like when you were pregnant with Ael.”
Alex’s mouth dropped open for a second. “He told you?”
Qylar nodded.
Tears collected in Alex’s eyes again. “I’m so sorry, Qylar.”
“Sorry? For what?” He sensed what that sorry was for, and if he was right, he wasn’t having it.
“That we didn’t tell you sooner. I know it must’ve hurt to learn the news this far along.”
That wasn’t what Qylar had been expecting, but seeing Alex’s sadness at keeping him in the dark helped soothe his ruffled feathers a bit. “I can understand not telling others—but me?”
“I wasn’t sure which one of you was sadder last time. Cryss or you. This time, I couldn’t save him the pain, but I could you.”
“And if you’d lost another? How would you have hidden your pain from me? I would’ve found out.”
Alex wiped more of the dampness from his cheeks. “I suppose you’re right. We should’ve told you.”
“And if there’s another after this one?”
“I think this one will be enough,” Alex said, chuckling. His smile faded. “But if there’s another, you’ll be the second person I tell. I promise.”
“Good,” Qylar said. He eyed the oversized hoodie Alex was wearing. “I’ve been wondering about your fashion choices of late. I guess I should’ve realized it sooner by that alone.”
“The kids don’t know, either,” Alex whispered. “It was easier than worrying they might accidentally say something in public—so let’s keep it mum for now, please?”
“Of course.”
He glanced across the living room and found Zaadi feeding Ael blueberries through the mesh of the playpen.
He crossed the room and picked the two-year-old out of the large, fenced play yard and eyed the toddler.
His entire mouth was purplish-blue and covered in little bits of crushed blueberries.
So were his fingers and the front of his t-shirt.
Aeloran growled at him, smiling through it.
Qylar tousled Ael’s hair. “What was that for?”
Ael barked, grinning from ear to ear.
“Are we a puppy today?” Qylar returned to the kitchen to wash Ael’s fingers and face. “I suppose we should take this puppy on a walk and let him pee on some trees.”
“I a big boy,” Ael said in toddler speak only the family understood for the most part. “I go potty.”
“We had a dry pull up this morning,” Alex said, beaming at Ael.
Ael grinned. Qylar lifted a hand for a high-five, which was smacked with much enthusiasm. He ruffled Ael’s hair. Eyeing Alex, he grinned. “I understand I’m to escort the little prince and princess to the park?”
Alex eyed Zaadi.
Zaadi pulled a face.
“I told you I’d take you later. Once my headache let up.”
“But Uncle Q can take us now,” Zaadi said.
“That’s why you snuck the key and left, hmm?” Alex admonished.
“But we needed him,” Zaadi said with all honesty. “You don’t feel good, Papa.”
“That’s right,” Qylar said, bending and opening his mouth to Zaadi, who still clutched the blueberry container. She popped one between his lips with a giggle. “They needed me.”
Alex sighed. “You spoil them.”
Qylar smirked. “Indeed I do.”
“It’s nearly lunchtime. Let me make some lunch boxes before you go.”
“I can handle lunch,” Qylar said. “There’s always a food truck or two near the park.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “So I can have a two-year old come home coated in Leo’s tacos and smelling of al pastor?”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Qylar said with a grin.
“I found diced tomatoes in his ear last time. It might be less messy if they eat here before you go.”
“You’re no fun,” Qylar muttered. “What’s the point of living near the best fucking taco truck in California if you’re not going to eat there?”
Even as he grumbled, he walked over to pitch in and helped make the kids a quick lunch, vowing to sneak them a taco later. Once they were sitting at their little table and eating, Alex sat on one of the island stools and eyed him.
“You brought a friend home last night.”
Qylar snagged the blueberries on the counter, sliding them closer so he could dive in. “I didn’t know my comings and goings were being tracked.”
Alex scoffed. “They aren’t.”
“Then how did you know I had someone over?”
“I got up to pee around five this morning and I noticed a man rushing out of your townhouse like it was on fire. At first, I feared he might be a burglar, but when I saw he was wearing one of your t-shirts down to his knees and had a pair of leather pants slung over a shoulder, I put two and two together. You were at the Eagle last night, right?”
Qylar’s face warmed. “Maybe.”
Kenji had run away? Why? He’d thought they had fun together. He’d planned to cook the man breakfast and drive him home—maybe after round three. Or four.
“You don’t usually bring your friends home,” Alex said. “Was this one… more than a one-night kind of friend?”
Qylar’s shoulders tightened. “No.”
Yes.
Qylar hadn’t seen a message left behind or a number. He hadn’t gotten one before taking Kenji to bed. He didn’t have a last name, nor did he have a home address. The guy had blown his mind in bed and then ghosted him.
That was Qylar’s typical move. He didn’t much like it being used on him, especially when he’d found one he actually wanted to have more than one night with.
“Look, I’m not trying to sound like a scold.
I just worry that someone might end up seeing something they shouldn’t, or the kids seeing something they shouldn’t,” Alex murmured.
“Especially now that we know Zaadi can sneak next door. Going to a guy’s place might be safer for us all, especially if this wasn’t a long-term kind of friend. ”
To illustrate the point Alex was making, Aeloran reached out with a tiny tentacle and snatched a blueberry from the container on the counter in front of Qylar.
The kids had been taught never to show their tentacles outside of the house, but they were free to be themselves in it.
Even at Ael’s tender age, he seemed to understand and hadn’t had an accidental shift in public in months.